Unfortunately
"Renaissance Art I" has been cancelled. If you are one of those
preregistered for this course, please get in touch with me asap so that we can
find you a replacement.

And on a more positive
note: the "Art of Africa" course will be taught by Dr. Gary van
Wyk. Please see the description, below. Again, email if you would
like to enroll in this course.

St. Mark Preaching in Alexandria, Giovanni Bellini, 1504-07

That note was received yesterday by a Hunter College MA candidate in Art History. Whatever the relative merits of African
vs. Renaissance art, the latter is fundamental, not just for art historians, but for literate citizens of the western world in general.

The School of Athens, Raphael,
1510

This gap is not just about a class: if there
is no Renaissance painting class being offered at the graduate school, there is
nobody to advise a student in writing his or her thesis. That means Renaissance
painting is effectively off the table as a concentration. In turn, that student is at a disadvantage in seeking work focusing on Renaissance art.

“The course will explore post-colonial and postmodern
positions on Africa in the art world, with special focus on the School of Dakar
and the Negritude movement (Senegal), the Nsukka School (Nigeria), and the
Resistance Art Movement in South Africa,” reads the course description for Dr. van
Wyk’s class. “The course will consider contemporary artistic and curatorial
practices that re-frame Africanity in today’s global context, including the
current Venice Biennale, curated by Okwui Enwezor.”

In Manhattan’s art
world, Renaissance art dwarfs any contemporary African collections. Hunter is
setting its students up for irrelevancy in the very job market in which it is located,
which is also the most important art market in this country.

But there is another problem here, common to public universities. Required classes are often not
available, leading kids to take longer to finish degrees.

The Ghent Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck, c. 1432

While about 80 percent of undergraduates earning degrees at
private colleges and universities finish within four years, at public
institutions the rate drops to 50 percent.

That can make a public school education less of a good deal
compared to private colleges. Not only must the student shell out more tuition
than originally anticipated, he or she loses a year of earnings in the bargain.

Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter, Pietro Perugino, 1481

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me on the Schoodic Peninsula
in beautiful Acadia National Park in August 2015. Click here for
more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.